U.S. Pairs history at the World championships

[aftershocks]

At the 1977 World championships, the U.S. sent 3 pairs teams to compete in a thirteen team field! Tai & Randy won the bronze medal; Gail Hamula & Frank Sweiding were 7th; and Sheryl Franks & Michael Botticelli placed 9th (after a pro career, Sheryl transitioned into coaching). The Soviet Union had three pairs teams who went 1,2 and 4, unsurprisingly since Soviet Union/Russia has dominated pairs since 1964 forward, building on the strength of the pioneering and innovative Belousova/ Protopopov.

The other teams at 1977 Worlds were one team from East Germany, two teams from West Germany, and one team each from Czechoslovakia, Canada, Japan, and Australia (Peter & Elizabeth Cain -- Ashley Cain's father and aunt). Notice, there were no teams from China, France, Italy, Austria, U.K., et al, as we have today. And shocker, only one team from Canada. These stats also seem to suggest that pairs was not considered as important as singles. For me, pairs is my favorite discipline, as well as the most exciting in competitive figure skating, with ice dance a close second, men, and then for me, ladies bring up the rear.

I think Tai & Randy deserved World silver in both 1977 and 1978. They won bronze those years, and then famously, World gold in 1979. T&R of course followed in the pairs footsteps of JoJo Starbuck & Ken Shelley of the U.S. who won World bronze medals in 1971 and 1972. Peter & Caitlin (Kitty) Carruthers won World bronze in 1982 and Olympic silver in 1984. Jill Watson & Peter Oppegard won World bronze in 1987 and Olympic bronze in 1988. Jenni Meno & Todd Sand won World silver in 1998, and World bronze in 1995 and 1996 (Todd had already won World bronze in 1991 with Natasha Kuchiki). And, as we know, Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman are the last U.S. pair to stand on the World podium, winning bronze in 2002.

It is fascinating to look at the history. Canada surprisingly went through a 19-year-period of podium drought at Worlds and Olympics from the mid-1960s until 1983 when Barb Underhill and Paul Martini captured bronze and then gold the following year. The U.S. has currently gone 17 years without a pairs team on the podium at either Worlds or Olympics. So probably, Canada's 19-year drought in World & Olympic pairs podium appearances will be matched and surpassed by the U.S. Still, U.S. teams have the potential to begin turning things around over the next several years.

 

[aftershocks]

The pairs discipline began as a competition at Worlds in 1908 with only 3 teams competing: Germany-gold; U.K.-silver; Russia-bronze; 5 teams competed in 1909; 3 teams in 1910; 1 team in 1911; 8 teams in 1912; 11 in 1913; 5 in 1914. No U.S. teams competed during these years.

Worlds was not held from 1915 thru 1921 due to WWI

1922 thru 1927 - 0 U.S. teams (in 1924 only 3 international pairs teams competed)
1928 - 2 U.S. teams competed
1929 - 0 U.S. teams
1930 - 3 U.S. teams, with Loughran/Badger of U.S. winning bronze
1931 - 1 (Maribel Vinson & George Hill are the only U.S. team to compete)
1932 - 2 Loughran/Badger of U.S. won bronze (Canada qualified 4 teams) only 9 teams competed
1933 thru 1935 - 0 (no U.S. teams competed)
1936 - 2 U.S. teams, with only 6 teams competing, including 1 each from Canada, U.K., Austria & Germany; of note: Maribel Vinson placed 5th in pairs with George Hill

1937 thru 1939 - 0 (no U.S. teams were sent)
1940 thru 1946 Worlds is not held due to WWII

1947 thru 1948 - 2 the Kennedys placed 4th in '48, won silver in '47
1949 - 2 the Kennedys win silver; Davies/Hoffner of the U.S. win bronze
1950 - 2 Karol & Peter Kennedy win gold the first NA team to win gold in pairs at Worlds
1951 thru 1952 - 3 the Kennedys win silver both years
1953 - 0 (3-U.K.; 2-Hungary; 1-Canada; 1-Switzerland; 1-Austria; 1-W.Germany; 1-Belgium)
1954 thru 1956 - 2
1957 - 3
1958 - 2
1959 thru 1960 - 3 (only 8 teams competed in '59, 12 in '60) Ludingtons win bronze in '59
1961 - Worlds was cancelled due to air crash tragedy killing entire U.S. team, coaches, family members
1962 - 2
1963 thru 1965 - 3 Vivian & Ronald Joseph win silver in '65
1966 - 2
1967 thru 69 - 3 Cynthia & Ronald Kauffman win bronze 1966-1968
1970 - 2
1971 - 3 Starbuck/Shelley win bronze in '71 and '72

1972 - the U.S. sent 4 pairs teams to Worlds Only 15 teams competed, including 3-Soviet Union 2-Canada, 1-Poland, and as one country split apart by politics: East Germany sent 2 teams and West Germany sent 3; rules changes must have come into effect post this year's event

1973 thru 1976 - 2 T&R placed 5th in '76; 10th in '74 & '75 (1974 was their first Worlds)
1977 thru 1979 - 3 T&R medaled all 3 years, as mentioned earlier
1980 thru 1981 - 2 Tai & Randy retired post Olympics
1982 thru 1983 - 3 Carruthers win bronze in '82
1984 thru 1985 - 2 Peter & Kitty retired post Olympics
1986 - 3
1987 - 2 W&O win bronze as noted earlier
1988 - 3 Watson & Oppegard participated post-Olympic bronze medal, but placed 6th
1989 - 2 Yamaguchi/Galindo placed fifth in '89 and '90, then split
1990 thru 1992 - 3
1993 - 2
1994 - 3 (pairs entry list reaches a high of 24, with 4 teams not advancing to the final)
1995 - 2 Meno/Sand win bronze; had placed 6th in 1994
1996 thru 1997 - 3 Meno/Sand win bronze in '96
1998 - 2
1999 - 3 (Laura Handy/Paul Binnebose WD after advancing to FS because Paul had the flu)
2000 thru 2002 - 2 Ina/Zimmerman win bronze in '02 (last U.S. pairs team on World podium to date)
2003 - 3

2004 thru 2018 - 2 Inoue/Baldwin placed 4th in 2006; Yankowskas/Coughlin 6th in 2011; in 2017 Denney/Frazier did not advance to FS while Scimeca/Knierim placed 10th and qualified two spots; in 2018 Kayne/O'Shea were injured and Stellato-Dudek/ Bartholomay competed well as subs, but were unfairly cut from advancing to the finals due to bonehead rules that don't consider international depth

2019 - 1 Cain/LeDuc help regain 2 spots for U.S. pairs, placing 9th

These stats are revealing, and the overall stats per country per year are gobsmacking in some instances. The upshot is that none of the ISU's competitive structure and rules changes have ever made any sense, because it's mostly based on fed & ISU politics and less upon athletic skill, with cultural and global trends also factors. The ISU has never truly adapted in a forward thinking way to changing times.

 

[Spiralgraph]

Aftershocks, as a very long time U.S. pairs fan I'm familiar with most of the information you posted above. But i didn't remember or know that the US sent 4 teams in 1972. So I'm going to research that myself soon just to satisfy my own curiosity.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

What were Urbanski and Marvel's world placements?

 

[aftershocks]

Aftershocks, as a very long time U.S. pairs fan I'm familiar with most of the information you posted above. But i didn't remember or know that the US sent 4 teams in 1972. So I'm going to research that myself soon just to satisfy my own curiosity.

Yes. I don't know why. I would guess it's because the rules that are now in place were not in existence then. But it's still strange. It only happened once. But in earlier times, the number of countries who participated in pairs was minimal. Pairs is a fascinating displine. I am also intrigued by the fours competitions that were once very popular, particularly in Canada.

What were Urbanski and Marvel's world placements?

From 1990 - 1993, U/M placed 9th, 7th, and 8th at Worlds, respectively.


One of the more interesting historical facts is how Russia had a pair team competing at the first pairs competition held at Worlds in 1908, with only 3 teams competing. But Russia no longer figured in most of the competitions of the following years. Oh, but that's probably due to the devastation of the Russian Revolution and societal upheaval.

Russia did not figure much into the mix again until the 1960s and Belousova/Protopopov's unexpected revolutionizing of the pairs discipline. Although Rusfed did not hold B/P in great esteem, the fed certainly jumped on the bandwagon built by B/P and politicked furiously as their skaters excelled their way to complete, death-grip dominance. Russian pairs dominance has never really waned, even though in recent years pairs teams other than Russian have had more opportunities to win gold.

 

[alchemy void]

Thanks for compiling this. Interesting read. 24 pairs in 1994!

The upshot is that none of the ISU's competitive structure and rules changes have ever made any sense, because it's mostly based on fed & ISU politics and less upon athletic skill, with cultural and global trends also factors.

What a loaded sentence. I don't necessarily agree, but there's a lot to unpack here.

 

[aftershocks]

Thanks for compiling this. Interesting read. 24 pairs in 1994!

Yes, before then the number of pair entries had fluctuated in single and low double digits, but started building I believe throughout the 1980s -- still remaining mostly in the teens, but reaching a high of 20 and more until the record high of 24 in 1994. And every one of those teams got to compete in both sp and fp. What an advantage for pairs skaters from countries like China who was developing their pairs discipline, which then began to take off with the rise of Shen/Zhou and eventually Pang/Tong and the Zhangs.

In 1994 (their first Worlds), Shen/Zhou placed 21st. The key is, they got the chance to go forward and compete at Worlds every year and improve! Teams have got to be able to compete in order to gain experience and improve. S/Z didn't compete at Worlds in 1995, but in 1996 they placed 15th, then 11th in 1997, and then a jump to 4th place in 1998. They never looked back. From 1999 to 2007 they were either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (with 3 silver medals, 3 gold medals and one bronze medal) -- aside from 2005 and 2006 when they did not compete at Worlds probably due to injury. They were 1st at 2007 Worlds, but did not compete at Worlds in 2008 and 2009. Finally in 2010, they captured a long overdue Olympic gold medal, and retired from eligible competition.

 

[aftershocks]

What a loaded sentence. I don't necessarily agree, but there's a lot to unpack here.

Yes, you are right, and thanks for pointing that out. Even as I was typing those words, I felt like it's an overstatement. There are many factors involved behind these stats and behind the course of pairs figure skating history, both domestically and internationally. And indeed figure skating history as a whole is voluminously loaded with endless unpacking required.

The stats I suppose are just an intriguing element of larger incidences and interactions, both cultural, political and personal. For example Loughran/Badger of the U.S. medaled at Worlds in 1930, but did not compete in 1931. In 1932, they competed, and they won another bronze medal. So perhaps injury or other personal reasons led to them not competing in 1931. Therefore, many factors are involved in the stats. Figure skating is an expensive, elitist sport, which also accounts for some of these statistical variances from year-to-year. Along with rules changes, historical and cultural events like the world wars are a huge factor in the sport's trajectory. An immeasurable factor is the Sabena airline crash in 1961 that killed so many amazing people who made up the sport in the U.S. To this day, we still haven't put together the incident's full, lasting impact on figure skating. It is apparent that the tragedy was the harbinger of figure skating becoming more global and interactive across countries. Of course migration trends, television, and technological advances (including the Internet) are other huge factors that led to globalization.

Also, lack of vision and leadership is a huge factor in the sport sort of randomly meandering along without much thought or preparation for a changing future. That is right up until public scandals forced rapid change: e.g., the whole brouhaha over the scoring of Janet Lynn at Worlds in the early 70s due to her difficulty in placing high enough in compulsory figures (which constituted so much of the points value). Finally in 1973, the short program was instituted, as the prominent point values given to compulsory figures decreased, until they were scrapped altogether from competition and largely from training too from 1990 forward. Something needed to happen differently, but TPTB didn't need to dismiss the importance of figures altogether. Removing them from competition, however, should have happened well before 1990.

Other examples of bonehead decisions made with a hammer and then backtracked from are post-2002 Olympic pairs scandal, the pushing in of anonymous judging and COP/IJS before that new scoring system had been completely fine-tuned, evaluated and tested; and post the 2010 Olympic mens skating brouhaha, overvaluing quads was instituted by the ISU without thinking it through in a more measured and responsible way. And in recent years, anonymous judging was finally dropped. And then there was the backtracking away from overvaluing quads because of Nathan Slaythan breaking quad records, among other factors that weren't working well with the scoring system. Of course, PCS is still an arbitrary, political crapshoot in how it's judged and scored.

Believe me, I only mean to say a little and then I end up writing a lot because there's so much to say and figure skating is one of my passions.

 

[gkelly]

Yes, before then the number of pair entries had fluctuated in single and low double digits, but started building I believe throughout the 1980s -- still remaining mostly in the teens, but reaching a high of 20 and more until the record high of 24 in 1994. And every one of those teams got to compete in both sp and fp.

There were 25 pairs in 1997; one team did not advance to the freeskate. (And another team withdrew after the short.)

1997 World Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There were 28 teams in 2017 and 2018. And fewer teams advanced to the free, so more teams got cut. Including the second US team in 2017, to stay on topic.

Anyway, yes, there were growing numbers of pair teams over the past ~30 years -- partly from former Soviet countries each fielding their own teams, but more from countries that had never had pair programs or much of a figure skating program at all beginning to develop teams.

 

[aftershocks]

There were 25 pairs in 1997; one team did not advance to the freeskate. (And another team withdrew after the short.)

1997 World Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There were 28 teams in 2017 and 2018. And fewer teams advanced to the free, so more teams got cut. Including the second US team in 2017, to stay on topic.

Anyway, yes, there were growing numbers of pair teams over the past ~30 years -- partly from former Soviet countries each fielding their own teams, but more from countries that had never had pair programs or much of a figure skating program at all beginning to develop teams.

It varies, and as @alchemy void already said, there's a lot to unpack. This is not an exhaustive, comprehensive summary. It's just a brief look (albeit that took me hours to compile) focused mainly on charting the yearly trends in U.S. pairs competitive spots at Worlds. I randomly noticed the up-and-down numbers of total pairs entries at Worlds along with some of the more surprising and/or revealing stats such as some countries fielding four entries in certain years, and the limited countries who participated, which obviously changed over time, as times changed.

It's not simply about which teams got to compete or to advance to the fp (when the limiting rule came into effect). As we know, in recent years, the ISU has been attempting to streamline the event, thus the overbearing limitations, when in fact, the ISU needs to be finding ways to accommodate the talented depth. If they want to contain pairs entries, a new competitive structure needs to be devised to accommodate changing times. Otherwise, they are stunting the sport's growth. Don't even let me get started about Stellato/Bartholomay getting cut from advancing to the fp in 2018, after a decent sp performance and a 61+ score...

 

[aftershocks]

Anyway, yes, there were growing numbers of pair teams over the past ~30 years -- partly from former Soviet countries each fielding their own teams, but more from countries that had never had pair programs or much of a figure skating program at all beginning to develop teams.

Yep, exactly. That's a no-brainer.

And yet, the unpacking is still endless, because so much has been left packed away for far too long IMHO.

 

[SkateGuard]

Aftershocks, as a very long time U.S. pairs fan I'm familiar with most of the information you posted above. But i didn't remember or know that the US sent 4 teams in 1972. So I'm going to research that myself soon just to satisfy my own curiosity.

I'll save you a little time. The results of 1972 Worlds are in the May 1972 issue of "Skating" magazine. There were 3 American teams - Starbuck and Shelley, the Militano's and Brown and Berndt. As I suspected, the error is on Wikipedia. The result list there currently states that Linda Connolly and Colin Taylforth represented the United States. They represented Great Britain.

If you're using Wikipedia as a source for historical skating results, please keep in mind there are a lot of errors there and anyone can edit the pages anonymously. It's a great starting place for information but it is not 100% correct in many cases.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks Ryan! That did seem quite strange. I did a double take, but there it was. And right, be careful trusting Wiki in every instance, and sometimes in any instance. I definitely should have checked all the names of the skaters listed as U.S. skaters for 1972, since for us today so many of those names are obscure and not readily recognizable. That would have been an easy check, though. But again, I was chiefly focused on compiling the number of spots for U.S. skaters at Worlds historically. I actually never intended to go through every single year of World pairs competition. But I got hooked.

Now, I have to wonder about a couple of other strange stats I randomly noticed. I think there was at least one more instance where 4 teams from one country were entered. But the farther back you go, the entries are rather strange to begin with from what we are accustomed to today. Awhile back, I was checking out the scoring stats for when Dick Button was competing. A math genius is needed to figure out what they were doing with the numbers back then!

Gosh darn, I had a lot of old Skating mag issues, but I lost some of them when I had things in storage. I still have a few left, but not from the 1970s.

 

[alchemy void]

Otherwise, they are stunting the sport's growth. Don't even let me get started about Stellato/Bartholomay getting cut from advancing to the fp in 2018, after a decent sp performance and a 61+ score...

Yes, only 16 pairs qualifying to the LP was ridiculous. In the ISU’s defense, however, they did immediately rectify this for 2019 and upped the qualifying number to 20.

 

[SkateGuard]

Now, I have to wonder about a couple of other strange stats I randomly noticed. I think there was at least one more instance where 4 teams from one country were entered. But the farther back you go, the entries are rather strange to begin with from what we are accustomed to today.

Until the 1959 ISU Congress in Tours, France, member federations were allowed to send as many skaters/pairs to Europeans & Worlds as they liked. A rule change permitted a maximum of 3 skaters/pairs per discipline. A similar rule pertaining to the Olympics had been passed in 1955. The 1959 rule guaranteed each country at least 2 entries per discipline, with a third if a representative from a member country placed in the top 12 at the preceding year's event.

One of the reasons you didn't see umpteen entries from each country prior to the rule change in 1959
had nothing to do with the federations 'not sending them'. Skaters - then tied to super intense rules regarding amateurism - couldn't afford to pay their own way because federations (if they even paid for anyone) often only paid the travel costs of the national champions, not the skaters who came 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.

 

[gkelly]

There is one exception I'm aware of:

In 1990, both East Germany and West Germany placed ladies in the top 10, which would have entitled each federation to two ladies for 1991.

Because Germany reunited in the interim, the united German federation was permitted to send four entries to 1991 Worlds (although one did not make the cut of top 20 to the freeskate).

1990 World Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1991 World Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But that is off topic for this US pairs thread.

 

[aftershocks]

Thanks Ryan, the gist of those details is exactly what I suspected. I just don't have the detailed historical knowledge that you have. Thanks so much for sharing. This is the kind of fascinating info about the sport's development that is crucial to gaining a deeper understanding of how the sport evolved from its earliest beginnings to the current moment.

I certainly realize that there were fewer athletes who competed as amateurs in those days, for a variety of reasons. So yes, the reality was more that there were no other athletes available to send to Worlds in some of those years. It was a very different sport in many ways in the early days. The 1950s did begin to bring about competitive changes with the advent of the athleticism of NA skaters, like Dick Button, Tenley Albright, and Carol Heiss, et al., especially coming after WWII's catastrophic devastation in Europe.

 

[aftershocks]

Yes, only 16 pairs qualifying to the LP was ridiculous. In the ISU’s defense, however, they did immediately rectify this for 2019 and upped the qualifying number to 20.

I know they did, because the situation was obviously unfair and many people were vocal about it. Still, sorry I'm not sorry for not wishing to ever defend the ISU. I know there are good members who want to make reasonable and needed changes, or at least to examine new directions. But for the most part, it's an antiquated, head-in-the-sand body, that is continuously hampered by conflicts of interest, power ploys, lack of thoughtful leadership, and political in-fighting that rarely benefits athletes, much less long term beneficial forward progress for the sport.

 

[alchemy void]

But for the most part, it's an antiquated, head-in-the-sand body, that is continuously hampered by conflicts of interest, power ploys, lack of thoughtful leadership, and political in-fighting that rarely benefits athletes, much less long term beneficial forward progress for the sport.

This is another loaded sentence.

 

[Seerek]

Yes, only 16 pairs qualifying to the LP was ridiculous. In the ISU’s defense, however, they did immediately rectify this for 2019 and upped the qualifying number to 20.

The cut off was already 20 for pairs up until 2010, I wonder what prompted the ISU to drop it to 16 in the first place.

 

[tony]

The cut off was already 20 for pairs up until 2010, I wonder what prompted the ISU to drop it to 16 in the first place.

I think the consistency of four LP warm-up groups per discipline more than anything, and then only requiring one ice resurfacing per segment.

But the ISU has messed with numbers a lot. Remember Europeans was dropping down to 20 in singles for a few years and even doing a long break in between the groups (a la US and Canadian Nats).

 

[aftershocks]

^^ ITA @Tony Wheeler. The ISU has been more focused on decreasing the length of events, which granted can be unwieldy. But in the process of finding ways to limit how long events drag on*, they neglected to account for the increasing depth in pairs internationally. And by deciding to limit the number of entries, along with the number of pairs who can advance to the fp, that blunts hopes, dreams, and motivations, while selling short the athletes and stunting the overall development of pairs. I certainly do not have answers for how to resolve, but I feel that the sport is not paying enough attention to long-term growth of the disciplines nor to the needs and concerns of athletes. Thus, figure skating stays mired in an antiquated competitive structure, while the sport remains hampered and largely ineffectual in keeping up with changing times.

* It looks like they have tried to cut down on Zamboni ice-smoothing time by using two smaller machines to speed up that time-consuming, yet necessary procedure.

This is another loaded sentence.

Loaded and accurate from my perspective. And I'm not gonna unpack it either. ISU need to do their own unpacking, as well as housecleaning, IMHO!

Uncle Dick, Frank Carroll, and others in-the-know can give us the real behind-the-scenes deal on the history of this sport as led by the ISU. It will take much more than a montage. There's lots of dirty laundry, but for the most part, I suppose much of it is better left kept hidden under the bed and swept under the rug.

ETA:
But in any case, that's OT for this thread, which I hope can be more conversational about the history of U.S. pairs, and about NA pairs in general. The fascinating history related to the talent, dedication and hard-won feats of the athletes is very worthwhile unpacking.

 

[aftershocks]

I think there was at least one more instance where 4 teams from one country were entered.

1932 - 2 Loughran/Badger of U.S. won bronze (Canada qualified 4 teams) only 9 teams competed

So yes, it was in 1932 that 4 teams from Canada competed at Worlds.* That's the other instance I had come across. There might be another instance for a different country before the rules were changed. The fact that four teams had competed from Canada one year is probably why I didn't think the 1972 instance for the U.S. was inaccurate. Although happening in the 1970s, particularly for the U.S., I felt was rather odd. And obviously there was a country affiliation mistake made in one entry for 1972, plus entry limitation rules had been instituted in 1959, as already noted by @SkateGuard.

*Keeping in mind, of course, that Wiki contains mistakes, and this might be inaccurate as well. Still, in this case, it's probably not wrong. The skaters listed from Canada are apparently all Canadian:

Pairs who competed for Canada in 1932: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_World_Figure_Skating_Championships

Frances Claudet / Chauncey Bangs (placed 5th in a 9-entry field) Constance Samuel / Montgomery Wilson (placed 6th -- they were siblings) Maude Smith / Jack Eastwood (placed 7th) Isobel Rogers / Melville Rogers (placed 9th) ^^ It's possible to click on all of the above links and find info on these skaters, except for Jack Eastwood and Isobel Rogers who do NOT have Wiki entries. The U.S. sent two teams to Worlds in 1932, with Loughran/Badger winning bronze. Andree Joly Brunet & Pierre Brunet of France won gold. The Brunets (a married couple) were an innovative team who won a total of four World championships and three Olympic medals (bronze in 1924, and gold in '28 and '32). In addition, the Brunets won a total of 11 French national championships in pairs (Andree also won 10 French singles championships!) - In 1936, the Brunets refused to participate in the Winter Olympics held in Germany, in protest of the Nazi regime. The couple later emigrated to the U.S. and became coaches. Their son, Jean-Pierre, won the U.S. pairs championship twice (1945 and 1946), with Donna Jeanne Pospisil. Sadly, Jean-Pierre died in 1946 at age 19, in a car accident.

 

[vanillashake]

I would love to see a U.S pair win Olympic Gold in my lifetime, as it is the only one they are missing. I honestly believe the only place that will ever happen though are the Cutting Edge movies.

 

[aftershocks]

I would love to see a U.S pair win Olympic Gold in my lifetime, as it is the only one they are missing. I honestly believe the only place that will ever happen though are the Cutting Edge movies.

As you say, perhaps you may not live to see it happen, which does not mean it will never happen, irrespective of your age and your as yet, unknown lifespan. Just as with the unfair dissing of U.S. men when they were not consistently landing quads, but they had enormous depth and style, it's rather harsh (albeit cliche in recent years) to dis and make fun of U.S. pairs skaters.

More positive attention and credit should be extended to U.S. pairs athletes, and a great deal more recognition should be given to the rich legacy of the U.S. pairs discipline. It's not a small thing that a U.S. pair, the Kennedy siblings, Karol & Peter (obscure and forgotten in today's short attention span culture) were the first NA pair to win World gold, in 1950. The Kennedys also won four World silver medals (1947, 1949, 1951, 1952), and an Olympic silver medal in 1952. To put the time period into perspective, John Nicks and his sister, Jennifer Nicks, were contemporaries of the Kennedys. The Nicks siblings, representing Great Britain, were winning World medals at the same time as the Kennedys. And of course, John Nicks later went on to coach many top U.S. skaters (including Babilonia/Gardner, Starbuck/Shelley, Meno/Sand, Tiffany Chin, Sasha Cohen, and Ashley Wagner). Nicks' legacy is currently being passed down through the coaching expertise of Meno/Sand.

At one time, the U.S. had good but not dominant ice dance teams (a gold medal IMHO was stolen from Judy Schwomeyer & James Sladky at the 1970 World championships due to politics and to bias by judges, in particular by the judge who openly engaged in body shaming of Judy). Today, U.S. ice dance athletes are consistently among the best in the world. U.S. pairs is a discipline which has not been given a lot of emphasis and attention by the federation. All athletes must be nurtured and given sufficient competitive opportunities in order to grow and to contend at the highest level.

Some may think it's cute to dismiss and mock U.S. pairs skaters. I think the point is, it's counterproductive to look down on athletes. As the history of U.S. pairs, and indeed of Canadian pairs shows, athletic fortunes in the various figure skating disciplines have risen and fallen with changing times. This is due to a number of factors, some of which can be ascertained by looking back at documented records.

 

[aftershocks]

... the only place that will ever happen though are the Cutting Edge movies.

The Cutting Edge movies are the height of camp, as fans of figure skating realize (and thus your humorous quip). Such depictions of skaters are indicative of how inaccurately the larger culture has always viewed the sport of figure skating. To this day, such erroneous views haven't changed. The general public is completely ignorant for the most part regarding the fact that figure skaters are some of the toughest athletes in the world. They have to be in order to even contemplate, much less navigate a career in this sport.

 

[vanillashake]

I do think the biggest problem for the prospects of a U.S pairs dominant or Olympic Gold team is I dont think young skaters typically dream of winning in pairs. They dream of winning in singles (ladies or men), and now dance has sort of become cool thanks to the break and run of success the last 12 years. Then again that pair could come which would increase the profile of pairs for young skaters like dance was done starting with Belbin & Agosto and Davis & White.

I absolutely love the Cutting Edge Movie Series, which is why I referenced them.

 

[Spiralgraph]

Just a slight correction Karol and Peter Kennedy won the silver medal at the 1952 Olympics.
No pair team from the USA has won the gold medal at the Olympics.. yet. I added the yet part because I remember vividly when Ice dance was the stepchild of American skating. If that can change for the better, so can pairs. Hope is eternal.

 

[aftershocks]

Just a slight correction Karol and Peter Kennedy won the silver medal at the 1952 Olympics. No pair team from the USA has won the gold medal at the Olympics.. yet. I added the yet part because I remember vividly when Ice dance was the stepchild of American skating. If that can change for the better, so can pairs. Hope is eternal.

Oh thanks! I know the Kennedys never won a gold medal at the Olympics. I meant to type silver, but for some reason I typed gold without even realizing. I corrected my post. Thanks for catching that error.

That is one of the fascinating things about the Kennedys: they didn't manage to cop an Olympic gold medal. I am wondering whether the fact they won silver instead of gold at the 1952 Olympics had something to do with the rampant fs politics we know has always existed in the sport. Hmmm...

Meanwhile, the Kennedys were obviously very talented since they won so many other medals at Worlds. However, after 1950, they never won gold again at Worlds. Again, in part it could be related to politics. Becoming the first NA pair to win gold at Worlds is due not only to their talent but also to the fact so many countries in Europe were recovering from the social, familial and economic upheavals caused by the war. In subsequent years, it could be that European bloc judging was taking hold again to help regain European dominance. Still, the Kennedy's win in 1950 paved the way for other pairs from both the U.S. and Canada to be reckoned with at the top.

Although the U.S. can claim the first NA pair to win World gold, Canada ended up gaining the most rep and stature in pairs vs the neighboring U.S., as a result of the later dominance of Canadians, Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul, who won four World championship gold medals from 1957 through 1960. And in 1960 at Squaw Valley, Wagner/Paul won Olympic gold, capping off their career. Wagner/Paul were preceded by Canadians, Frances DaFoe & Norris Bowden, who won World gold medals in 1954 and 1955, bookended by two World silver medals in 1953 and 1956. And Olympic silver in 1956.

As I mentioned earlier, by the mid-60s, Canadian pairs top prospects were not as competitive, which led to a World and Olympic podium drought that lasted 19 years. The podium drought was broken by Canadians, Barb Underhill and Paul Martini, who won World bronze in 1983, and World gold in 1984. The competitive mantle for Canadian pairs was later inherited by Landry/Johnston (World silver in 1989), and Brasseur/ Eisler, who won World bronze in 1992, World gold in 1993, and three World silver medals (1990, 1991, 1994). Seven years later, Sale/Pelletier won World gold (2001), and the rest of their story is probably contained in most of our memory banks.

So again, Canadian pairs gained larger prestige vs the U.S., post the Kennedys, and even post the 19-year Canadian pairs podium drought. Interestingly, during those 19 years of pairs podium drought for Canada, U.S. pairs were very competitive, winning mostly bronze and silver at Worlds, and eventually gold in 1979, as well as grabbing bronze and silver medals at the Olympics, before going on a podium drought of their own post-2002, a drought which is now in its 17th year.

 

[aftershocks]

I dont think young skaters typically dream of winning in pairs. They dream of winning in singles (ladies or men)

Do you mean generally, or mostly in the U.S.? I ask because I'm quite sure there are Russian skaters who dream of winning Olympic gold in pairs. Also, the current U.S. skaters competing in pairs surely are hoping to keep striving, pushing and giving themselves an opportunity to medal at Worlds and Olympics, even if most observers view such a goal as the longest of long shots for U.S. pairs teams.

I do understand that you are referencing the phenomenon of singles skaters often turning to pairs if/ when they face stumbling blocks from moving forward in singles. And yet, there may be a small number of skaters who prefer pairs having tried out both singles and pairs when they were young. Sure that's probably a small percentage, since for many, pairs has been a fall-back option to continue in the sport if singles does not work out.

I really think that scenario should change. And once again, the mindset regarding focusing on excelling in pairs is surely different in Russia due to their strong theater and dance (ballet) traditions.